Criterion Designs for Living

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1933 classic in both HD and SD.

By David McCutcheon

The Criterion Collection is all about digging through the archives of time and space to find Earth's best films hidden under the likes of Biodome and Chairman of the Board. They're going all the way back to 1933 to restore their latest old school endeavor, Design for Living, a film not far from home starring Gary Cooper, Fredric March, and Miriam Hopkins, who play a trio of Americans in Paris who enter into a very adult-oriented gentleman's agreeï¿½ment. The DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film will come home on December 6, 2011.

The film was adapted by Ben Hecht from a play by Noel Coward, and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. A risque relationship comedy and a witty take on creative pursuits, it concerns a commercial artist (Hopkins) unable—or unwilling—to choose between the equally dashing painter (Cooper) and playwright (March) she meets on a train en route to the City of Light. The DVD will be available for the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of $29.95, while the Blu-ray will run at the MSRP of $39.95.

The releases will feature the following bonus materials:

-- New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition -- "The Clerk," starring Charles Laughton—director Ernst Lubitsch's segment of the 1932 film If I Had a Million, which he made just before Design for Living -- Selected-scene commentary by film professor William Paul -- Play of the Week: A Choice of Coward, a 1964 British television production of the play Design for Living, introduced on camera by playwright Noï¿½l Coward -- New interview with film scholar and screenwriter Joseph McBride on Lubitsch and Ben Hecht's screen adaptation of the Coward play -- A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Kim Morgan

Check out the box art below:

Stay tuned to IGN DVD for more information about this and other upcoming releases!